Trump shooter's body is 'gone' as congressman uncovers 'disturbing fact' about investigation

• READ MORE:  One in five voters and a third of Republicans believe the FBI was behind the assassination attempt on Donald Trump

The body of Trump shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks has 'gone', a congressman revealed in a report last night accusing the FBI of a 'scorched earth' investigation. 

Rep. Clay Higgins, a Louisiana Republican who was appointed to Congress' bipartisan task force reviewing the assassination attempt, tried to view Crooks' body on August 5 as part of his own personal inspection. 

The former police captain said his request to view the body 'caused quite a stir and revealed a disturbing fact'.

It was at this point that he learned that the FBI had 'released the body for cremation 10 days' after the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.

Higgins says 'nobody knew' that the body had been returned to the family, including the county coroner and local enforcement. He writes that the coroner still had 'legal authority over the body' when the FBI made this decision and accuses the agency of 'obstruction'.

The congressman's report comes amid grave concerns over how the shooting was allowed to unfold, with Trump barely escaping with his life and a rally attendee being killed in one of the greatest security failings in American history.

Secret Service chief Kimberly Cheatle was forced to resign on July 23 - but many questions remain unanswered, with no motive yet provided for 20-year-old Crooks' assassination attempt.

Higgins said that he took it upon himself to investigate during a 'boots on the ground' trip to Butler from August 4 to 6.

His 'preliminary investigate report' was submitted to Task Force Chairman Mike Kelly (R-PA) on August 12 and released to the public on Higgins' website last night. 

In it he questions why Crooks' body was released to the family by the FBI without any oversight. 

'The problem with me not being able to examine the actual body is that I won't know 100% if the coroner's report and the autopsy report are accurate. We will actually never know,' Higgins writes.

'Yes, we'll get the reports and pictures, but I will not ever be able to say with certainty that those reports and pictures are accurate according to my own examination of the body.

'Again, similar to releasing the crime scene and scrubbing crime scene biological evidence... this action by the FBI can only be described by any reasonable man as an obstruction to any following investigative effort.'

Higgins states that on July 23, the day that Crooks was cremated, both the  Homeland Security Committee and the Oversight Committee had opened investigations into the assassination attempt, while Speaker Mike Johnson had stated he was forming a congressional investigative body.

'Why, then, by what measure, would the FBI release his body to the family for cremation? This pattern of investigative scorched earth by the FBI is quite troubling,' Higgins writes.

Speaking after the publication of his report, Higgins stated that he will leave no stone unturned as he continues to work alongside his colleagues as part of the bipartisan group investigating the shooting. 

'As I have said, every question will be answered, every theory explored, and every doubt erased. The American people deserve the full truth on the attempted assassination of President Trump,' he said.

'Our investigative efforts are moving forward in good faith. The release of my preliminary investigative report is reflective of my desire to deliver transparency and reassurance to the American people.'

Prior to being elected to the lower house in 2016, Higgins worked as a police officer in Louisiana. 

In November 2023, he suggested that violence at the Capitol on January 6 was caused by operatives who were brought in by the FBI on 'ghost buses.' 

Higgins has also attended and spoken at events organized by groups like the Three Percenters and the Oath Keepers. 

On July 29, the Louisiana congressman was named as one of seven Republican members of a bipartisan group tasked with investigating the attempted assassination of Trump. 

The task force consists of 13 members - seven Republicans and six Democrats. It's mission is to determine what went wrong on the day of the attempted assassination and it will make recommendations to prevent future security lapses.

The task force will issue a final report before December 13.